Page 8 of Falling

“I heard that, you impatient bitch. True art takes time,” Kennedy states proudly. “And my second update is I finished the new season of The Crown.”

“What? Without me?” Scarlett exclaims, throwing a pillow in her direction.

“I had to! You take, like, a gazillion bathroom breaks whenever we watch anything. You’re the worst person to watch a movie with.”

“You’re the one that stopped Matilda. You can’t spoil it for me now,” Scarlett says.

“I can’t spoil it. It’s literally history. Just pick up a book, you nerd,” Kennedy argues, rolling her eyes. She turns to me, her expression calming down from their short-lived argument. “What about you, Wren? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“I’m just thinking about my updates. Nothing exciting has happened,” I say with a sigh.

The second the words leave my mouth, I feel like I’m lying. Truth is, I haven’t done anything exciting. All I’ve done is go to my classes and train my ass off until I feel like putty. The only thing that comes to mind is Miles and his stupid fucking face and his stupid fucking voice and his stupid fucking teasing. And the stupid fucking date he has been hounding me about since last weekend.

The party was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. After being stuck in a metaphorical jail with Augustus Holden for four years, going out of the house has been a chore. I never went out much when we were together, so after we broke up, I never had a reason to. We weren’t the outdoorsy type of couple, and we were way too busy with our skating schedules to entertain that idea. I liked that about us for the most part. We always put our work first.

Scar and Kennedy will find any excuse to go to a party, andI’ll find any excuse to stay inside and read. We’ve always worked like that, and I’ve come to terms with it. I didn’t expect that having a dance battle with three random boys and my friends would turn into one of the most exhilarating nights of my otherwise boring life.

I’ve always felt like my life is constantly going on a loop, doing the same three things every day for the last ten years. It’s like I’ve been stuck in a mundane rhythm, each day blurring into the next with no sign of change. But recently, something shifted. It’s as if someone pressed pause on the monotony and flipped the script, breathing color into my once predictable existence. I’ve always felt like the boring one of my friends. The mild one. The tame one. I don’t know if I want to be that anymore just because I’ve got so comfortable with it.

Kennedy leans in, her eyes drilling into mine like she’s about to unlock my deepest secrets with a stare. “Oh my god, spill it. Right now,” she demands.

“Spill what?” I deflect, stretching my arm behind her to snag whatever snack I can find. I shove a handful of chips into my mouth, hoping to stop any actual words from escaping.

“It's definitely about a guy. I can tell,” Kennedy says, jabbing a finger at me for dramatic effect.

Chewing loudly, I ask, “How can you possibly know that?”

“Because you're blushing like you've just run a marathon in the Sahara,” Scarlett chimes in, grinning. “Come on, this is a safe space. You can tell us anything.”

I roll my eyes, dodging their questions as I say, “My first update is that I finished another chapter of Stolen Kingdom last night.”

Kennedy gasps, and Scarlett’s eyes widen with excitement. “Oh my god,” they both scream at the same time.

“See, I knew it wasn’t about a guy!” Kennedy says, completely contradicting her last comment. Scarlett shakes her head.

“No, you didn’t. And you didn’t let her finish,” Scarlett explains. “But we need to return to that. I have been dying to know what happens next.”

I started writing Stolen Kingdom, a fantasy series, when I was sixteen.

It follows a young princess, Carmen, who finds out her whole life is a lie and she is not actually the real heir to the throne. She is sent anonymous messages and is stalked around her small kingdom in Estonia, and she is on a quest to find out who knows her real identity and what they’re going to do about it.

It falls into many different categories, and the plot takes ridiculous turns, but Scarlett, Kennedy, and our friend Gigi have managed to keep up thus far. It’s stupid and ridiculous in all the best ways and it’s the passion project I throw myself into when life gets too much.

“And my second update…” I hedge, not sure how to say this. I get it out in one go, hoping that the word vomit will do the trick. “So, that dance-off at the party last weekend wasn’t just a coincidence with the timing. I met Miles, like, ten minutes before that, and we accidentally made a bet that if his team won, he could take me on a date, and if I won, he would go to a dance class. Somehow, Harry won, and now I have to go on a date with Miles.”

They both blink at me for a second, neither one of them saying anything.

Scarlett narrows her eyes. “How do you accidentally make a bet with someone?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. It just… happened. If anything, it’s your guys’ fault for leaving me unattended at a party I didn’t want to go to.”

“You’re a big girl, Wren. You were fine.” Kennedy laughs. I frown at her.

“Besides, Miles is a hot commodity. Youshould be lucky he even graced you with his presence,” Scarlett says, rolling her eyes. I had assumed he was popular since he’s a hockey player, but the fact that Kennedy and Scarlett are both nodding like this is common knowledge makes me feel stupid. Scarlett registers the confusion on my face and says, “Do you guys remember Jake? That dickwad I dated a while back?” We both nod. “Well, he’s on the hockey team too. He and Miles are friends. And he’s Evan’s housemate.”

“It’s interesting how you hate Evan so much, yet this is the second time he’s made an appearance in today's conversation,” Kennedy teases innocently.

Evan is two things: filthy rich and blond. He’s a gorgeous man, and no one could deny that, but his personality is where the faults lie. He’s managed to get a rise out of Scarlett every day for as long as I can remember. They’re in most of the same classes, and he has been trying to upstage Scarlett since we started college. There's been constant competition between them since day one, battling for the best grades and the best answers. Scarlett is not afraid of any competition, but there is something about Evan that makes her skin crawl.

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